Moments Fit to Remind
by Remi G. Craeg
Summary: Sam is nervous, Jack is amused. And it's times like these that remind Jack that Carter is human just like the rest of them. Fluff.


**A/N:** Just a fun little ditty for the weekend! Originally written for the Jack and Sam Friendathon 2009 on LJ.

* * *

**Moments Fit to Remind  
**by Remi Craeg

Throughout her career, Sam Carter consistently approached alien environments in a similar manner: with some variation of awe and excited preparedness. So when Jack O'Neill saw his second-in-command smooth her hair, her skirt, and her sleeves in three nervous passes, he smiled.

She was so not in her element. And neither was he, if he was being completely honest.

Jack stood opposite her, quietly observing this strangely diffident Carter with uncontained curiosity. He rarely had the opportunity to see her in anything other than a professional capacity and this alone made the whole fête bearable. While, yes, they were both in uniform, and yes, this was some kind of deranged egg-head convention, he didn't count it as work. No one was shooting at them, there were no overloading generators about-to-be-bombs or non-functioning shields. No, this was a good old-fashioned, down-to-earth geek bash.

Suddenly her head snapped back to him. "What?" she wondered when she found him staring.

"You look a little tense, Major. Nervous?"

Sam dropped her eyes and reached for her notes. "Nervous? No. Terrified, yes."

Jack laughed, he liked her like this. It was times like these that reminded him that she too was human. Sometimes he forgot.

"Come on, Carter. This can't be worse than the time on P34—"

"Actually, sir, yes it can."

"You don't even know which P34 I was referring to."

"Doesn't matter. There are only three and not one of them included five hundred of my peers. Not to mention a few high-ranking VIPs." She glanced around the room, noting a few specific guests before turning back to him.

"You're gonna do fine, Carter. Daniel said the speech was…interesting."

Sam narrowed her eyes. "He did?"

"Yeah, well, you know…wasn't really listening to the details, but he sounded excited."

She crossed her arms. "He did?"

"Hey, I'm sure he would've come if he could have. Teal'c, too, but you know how those rebel Jaffa meetings are."

"Right," she said, her tone clipped.

Oops, he probably shouldn't be working her up like this before a presentation of this magnitude. Damn. He usually couldn't find the line as he approached it, but he was pretty good at spotting it once it was crossed. Time for damage control.

"Need anything? Altoid? Jolly Rancher?" She shook her head. "You sure? They're supposed help calm nerves."

Sam stared at him incredulously.

"What? I read about it once."

She watched him dig through the contents of one of his pockets.

He looked up. "I think the cherry ones are best for big speeches. They don't leave your tongue some unnatural color, either," he said and held up a wrapped candy. When she waved a hand at his offering he shrugged. "Alright, more for me. You want me to sneak you a piece of cake?"

She must have known he was trying to cheer her up, because she blew out a breath, along with a hunk of nervous energy, and gave him a quick smile. "No thank you, sir."

"Mind if I grab one for myself?" He figured she could use the time to review her comments before it was her turn. She nodded and he disappeared into the crowd.

*

"See, that wasn't so bad, was it?" She shot him a glare. "What?"

"Sir, that was a disaster," she corrected.

He looked surprised, he thought it went well. "Nah, they were just caught off guard."

"My paper was published months ago."

As she gathered her notes, shut down her computer, and answered a few lingering questions, he waited patiently along the periphery of the stage. Then he followed her back up the main aisle, past now empty rows of flip-up seating, and out into the atrium without a word. She still seemed upset and Jack was hesitant to start more conversation.

He couldn't help it, though. "Must be hard," he said as they exited the auditorium. A group of tourist stood at the base of the building's steps, necks craned, eyes aimed high.

"What's that, sir?"

He turned, finding she'd stopped two steps above him. Jack couldn't interpret her expression with her eyes hidden behind sunglasses and cover shadowing her brow. "Not being able to share half of what you know. What you've seen."

"It's all part of the job."

"Yeah, but it would've made it easier in there," he offered, nodding back to the doors behind them.

"Maybe."

They stood a moment longer, only half committed to climbing the rest of the way down the massive stairway, back to the street. Sam looked up, wishing she could see the stars, but found only one, bright and hot and alone in a cloudless sky.

Jack followed her gaze, "I'm guessing it's not this nice back in Colorado." He was fairly certain; he'd blared the Weather Channel this morning in the hotel. DC seemed to be more fortunate this spring: since they arrived it was blue skies and sixty degrees. He smiled when he pictured Daniel returning to Earth with a new layer of snow.

"Sir," she said. Her tone was serious and he recognized the look she gave him as that of an unsure Carter. Suddenly it wasn't so endearing.

Jack waited, to let her gather her thoughts. Truth was, he couldn't speak if he wanted to. For some reason when she regarded him like this, it was scary. He didn't know what to expect.

"Thank you," she said, finally.

See, Jack, that wasn't so bad.

"For what?"

"For coming out here with me. I know an Astrophysics Conference is the last place you—"

"Is _that_ what that was?" he deadpanned. He had to kill some of the tension she was radiating again.

She arched an eyebrow, so he shrugged. "I'm serious, sir. You didn't have to and it was nice to have the support."

Jack turned and they continued the rest of the way to the parking lot in silence. When they reached their rental, he pulled his sunglasses off. "Anytime, Carter," he finally answered.

She seemed unfazed by his delay and glanced over the roof of the car before she entered, "Really? Because next year is supposed to be a blow-out with the leading expert in—"

"Ah-ah, don't push it, Major. Besides, we'll just let Daniel think he owes me now."

Sam ducked to hide her smile. "Yes, sir."

"Can we go eat now? That cake so did not hold me over."

"Yes, sir," she repeated. "I know the perfect place."

End.


End file.
